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Saturday, 9 March 2013

Have a Spare $4 Million?

Bloated with absurdly extravagant baubles, even the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalogue pales in comparison to the Iron Dog 05 Huraxdax.
The vast majority of the extravagantly pricey items are made
with costly materials such as gold or diamonds, and the most expensive
stove in the world is no exception. At $4 million, this cast gold, wood-fired range is the world's most expensive stove. (Iron Dog also makes a cheaper version in silver for the profligate penny-pincher.)
The stove is two-and-a-half feet tall and was designed by sculptor
Joseph Michael Neustifter, an artist whose traditional Bavarian works
grace the walls of over 80 churches. Each stove takes approximately two
months to produce. The Huraxdax is made
to order and takes two-and-a-half months to fabricate. Not quite a
last-minute stocking stuffer. Not a show pony either.The Huraxdax stands two-and-a-half feet high, weighs just over a quarter of a ton, heat output of 7kW and
works at 82% efficiency. The gilded range heats up to 50-100 square metres, which also makes it the world's most
expensive space heater.
Indeed, the Huraxdax is full of practical applications and "can be
put to everyday use," according to the Iron Dog website. Perhaps for
making pizza. We'd be wary of soiling Midas' stove, but if one can drop
$4 mil on a stove, one can spring for a maid.

Stamped on the sides and back of the stove is the word "huraxdax."
the reported
translation -- "decampment of joy" -- because that makes this the
world's saddest and most poetic stove. Maybe your joy departs when you
realize you've spent $4 million on a stove. (Don't ask how much the
vegetable peeler costs.)
"Nothing is as free as art and the people who love it," the Iron Dog
website declares. And nothing is as excessive as the Iron Dog 05
Huraxdax and the people who buy it.